TLC Properties, owned by Sam Coryell, wants to erect the structure in the southeast corner of its lot at 1530 E. Erie St., where The Abbey Apartments are located, according to plans posted on the city's website. Doing so would require zoning changes increasing the maximum height for buildings on the 18.6-acre site from three to four stories, as well as increasing the total units allowed on the property from 350 to 370.

There are currently 331 units in the development's octagon-shaped building, which is three stories tall. The additional four-story building, if approved, would add 36 units.

A public hearing on the issue will be held at a Springfield Planning and Zoning Commission meeting at 6:30 p.m. Thursday. The city's Department of Planning and Development recommends approval of the change on the basis that it will "increase intensity where investments have already been made in public services and infrastructure."

Staff also state that the proposed building "is not expected to have any additional impact on adjacent properties," although 27 property owners are within 185 feet.

Chrystal Dean, however, who lives on South Winton Place, said she objects to including a fourth story on the proposed building.

"This project will be an infringement on my privacy as the building will tower over my private back yard as well as blocking the view of skyline that I presently have from my patio thus affecting the quality of life that I have enjoyed at my home," Dean wrote in early June.

Due to power lines between her home and the property, Dean wrote, neither party can plant trees to provide a buffer or camouflage the view.

Reached Tuesday, Chrystal Dean's son Jim said she has lived in her home for 36 years.

"There's going to be a fair turnout at the zoning meeting," he said.

A second area resident, Shirley Tucker, wrote that "other than the medical buildings on South National, I am not aware of any other buildings in the neighborhood that are four stories high."

If approved by a majority vote of the Planning and Zoning Commission, the zoning changes would then go before Springfield City Council.